Bob's Red Mill Grains of Discovery

I received a awesome package today from Bob's Red Mill. It was boxed up like a suitcase and inside was 9 packages of whole grains from around the world.

There are some cool whole grains that I have never tried and some like chia and millet that I already use. All of these grains are very nutritious and high in fiber and protein. I am looking forward to trying all these new grains and learning about the places they came from. So join me on my whole grain quest with Bob's Red Mill as I cook up some new dishes.
 I love Bob's Red Mill products as they are healthy and great tasting. My favorite products are his rolled oats, flax meal, and chia seed. To see all the wonderful products Bob sells go to http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Spring In Your Step Mom Meet-ups sponsored by Children's Claritin

 I am Children's Claritin mom crew member and they send me cool stuff to help my friends learn about Children's Claritin. They sent me a "Spring in Your Step Mom Meet-up" box so I could have a get together with my friends. Inside they box there was some samples of Children's Claritin and these cool hot/coldpacks that are great for allergy headaches.

These packs are very cool! They have these gel balls in them and they can be put in the refrigerator or warmed in the microwave. You then place it on your head to help with allergies.

I decided to share my goodies with my helpers of my church nursery. Below is a picture of our church nursery. I could not pictures of the workers because of policies. The kids in the picture are mine.

The nursery workers were very happy to receive the cold/hot packs. One worker wanted to use it right away as her allergies were acting up. I was able to tell my nursery workers,who also have kids, how wonderful Children's Claritin works with seasonal allergies. My boys take Children's Claritin everyday for allergies and they have no symptoms like sneezing or drippy nose.  I also love that Children's Claritin is non drowsy.

"These opinions are my own and I received the above products to write this review."

Another Great Dinner For A Hot Summer Night

 It is still above 95 degrees here in Albuquerque, New Mexico and there is now rain in sight. I don't feel like cooking so I found a great dinner idea for spring rolls on Face Book. So I searched Google for recipes and found one and made some changes using ingredients that I had in the house. Here is my version of spring rolls. I used fish that I made in the microwave.

I bought these cool rice papers at Talin Market  in Albuquerque but you can find them at oriental markets also.

I had some baby carrots and thawed frozen broccoli that I shredded in my food processor. The top plate is seaweed that I had left over from a sushi recipe.

First I got both sides of the rice paper wet, just place in a bowl of water for a couple of seconds. Lay the wet rice paper on a clean surface and layer all the ingredients in the middle of it. Since my fish was already seasoned I did not add any. If using unseasoned fish, just sprinkle it with salt and garlic to taste.

Roll up the rice paper like a burrito

Then wrap the spring roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

I them made a sauce to dip the spring rolls in.

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seed oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

combine all ingredients in a dish. 

My husband enjoyed his with some wasabi also. These were great for a main course but they also make great appetizers.

It's Too Hot To Cook Dinner

Here in Albuquerque, New Mexico it is 95 degrees and hot. I love summer but hate that it is too hot to turn on the oven. So I cook using the microwave and stove. Last night I made breakfast burritos and it took less than 5 minutes to make. I always have the ingredients on hand to make some kind of mexican food.

The ingredients to make breakfast burritos are very simple. 

Tortillas - this is a New Mexico staple as it is our bread

a dozen eggs

shredded cheese- I like cheddar but we were out so I use mozzarella

salsa

potatoes

guacamole- I like to keep Wholly Guacamole in the freezer for quick meals,it thaws quick in a bowl of cold water

I scrubbed the potatoes and cooked them in the microwave. As the potatoes where cooking, I scrambled the eggs. Once the potatoes were done, I cut them in cubes and pan fried them in a hot pan with no oil until they turned brown.

Then I place all the ingredients on the counter and allowed everyone to create their own burrito.

Here is how I made mine. I place eggs, potatoes, salsa, cheese, and guacamole on the tortilla. Then I folded up the tortilla. I also microwave a package of frozen broccoli to go with the breakfast burritos. This is a easy dinner to make on a hot summer night.

What are your favorite meals for summer when it is too hot to cook? Feel free to link your blog post here.

Fresh Squeezed Summer With Kroger

 Bzzagent sent me some wonderful coupons to have a barbecue with. They sent me the coupons and I went to Smiths and bought the items pictured below.

For dinner tonight we will be having slider burgers,wavy chips, and vanilla cola. The Kroger slider burgers are frozen pre-made burgers that are individually wrapped and they also sell slider buns too. My boys already  sampled the chips and soda, as they could not wait.

Secret Outlast Clear Gel

I got a sample of

 Secret Outlast Clear Gel from Influenster to try and it is great. I love that it is clear and does not leave white marks on my clothes. It also smells wonderful.

Check out this funny video about Secret Outlast Clear gel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W32RHWByrGY

Cookies For Breakfast!

My boys like eating those Quaker breakfast cookies but I don't like how much they cost. So I searched the web for a homemade version. I think the recipe I found is also better for my boys. I love that I can sneak nutrition into my boys with cookies.. The recipe I found is packed with fiber through oatmeal, whole wheat flour, and flax seed. The flax seed also adds omegas into their diet. I grounded up the flax seeds into a powder so they are not detected in the cookies.

This batched I omitted the dried cranberries and sunflower seeds and added a cup of chocolate chips.

oatmeal and flax cranberry cookies

• 1 cup soft butter( I used 1/2 of cup and added 1/4 cup of milk)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)
• 1/2 cup King Arthur whole flax meal ( I used 3/4 flax seeds and grounded them)
• 1/4 cup King Arthur whole flax seeds ( I ommited)
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries or raisins
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, optional; walnuts or pecans are tasty (I used sunflower seeds)

directions

1) Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line them with parchment.

2) In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, and egg until fluffy.

3) Mix in the flour, oats, flax meal and seeds, dried fruit, and nuts.

4) Let the dough rest for 30 minutes or so at room temperature, for the oats to soften. Towards the end of the rest period, preheat the oven to 350°F.

5) Scoop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball of dough slightly.

6) Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Cool them on the baking sheets for 15 minutes or so, to allow them to set. Move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

nutrition information

Serving Size: 1 cookie Servings Per Batch: 42Amount Per Serving: Calories: 103 Calories from Fat:48 Total Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 3g Trans Fat: 0g. Cholesterol: 17mg Sodium: 47mg Total Carbohydrate:13g Dietary Fiber: 2g Sugars: 7g Protein: 2g.

I found this recipe on http://www.kingarthurflour.com/